Labyrinth
by TV Manic 2
Summary: [Changed Future] A Magic School field trip to the Natural History Museum goes horribly awry when Wyatt and Chris get trapped in an intricate maze with a mind of its own… and it doesn't want them to leave…
1. Do Not Touch the Exhibits

**Charmed -:- Labyrinth**

**Summary:**

[Changed Future] A Magic School field trip to the Natural History Museum goes horribly awry when Wyatt and Chris get trapped in an intricate maze with a mind of its own… and it doesn't want them to leave…

**Setting/Spoilers:**

Set in the Changed Future, following the timeline of the show and essentially ignoring the comics. At this point Wyatt is 18 and Chris is 16. I don't think there's really anything in terms of actual spoilers (Most people have seen all the episodes by now… right…?)

**Pairings:**

None beyond the canon except some very, very slight Chris/OC if you squint really hard

**Genre/Rating:**

Action/Adventure/Humour/Hurt/Comfort/Friendship/Fa mily (And anything else I think of…) Rated T to be safe

**Disclaimer:**

I own: A banged-up KA, an out-of-date laptop, a Kindle, an iPod and an extensive DVD collection. Sadly, I do not own Charmed (or any other TV show, movie, book etc. etc.) A girl can dream though.

**Author's Note(s):**

I'M SO SORRY! I know I haven't updated _Borrowed Time_ in ages! I got a third of the way through the next chapter and stalled epically. This here random fic is my attempt to kick start my muse and get the creative juices flowing. _Labyrinth_ is just a bit of fun so it shouldn't get too dark and angsty (technically, that is… this is _me_ writing it)

For this fic I have taken influences from everything – Indiana Jones, Primeval, Percy Jackson and my iPod (to name but a few). I do forewarn you that history was not my strongest subject and most of my 'facts' are from Wikipedia so apologies in advance for any massive mistakes I make.

But anyway, please ignore me now – and enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter One  
****-:-****  
****Do Not Touch the Exhibits**

"Ugh. How do people travel like this?"

Wyatt Halliwell glanced up from his smart phone long enough to smirk at his suffering baby brother. They were sat at the back of the bus on it's way to Los Angeles, Wyatt in the middle seat and Chris curled sideways on the bench one row forward. Outside the windows the dull scenery of the Westside Freeway flashed by, the driver doing a steady 65.

"You are looking a little green there, bro," Wyatt replied, without an ounce of sympathy. It turned out that the Whitelighter within was not a fan of buses, cars, trains… or any form of non-orbing transportation. Wyatt's self-healing kept his own nausea at bay, but the younger Halliwell was forced to endure it for the whole two-hour ride.

Chris just glared through his bangs before curling up again and muttering to his knees. "Surely they could have found a closer portal than Delano? It's a school of witches for Christ's sake."

"If it makes you feel any better, Aunt Paige isn't looking much better than you are," Wyatt nodded toward the front of the bus where Paige Matthews, teacher of Advanced Magic, Art, and Mortal History, was trying very hard not to puke on her students.

"Its probably all part of that 'normal life' stuff that they keep ramming down our throats," Ashleigh Jenkins grumbled with an eye-roll, before turning to stare out of the window. She was the only daughter of Billie Jenkins and had practically grown up with the Halliwell brood. She had long blonde hair streaked with purple, a couple of facial piercings and was wearing a smudge too much eye-makeup. "I mean, we go to high school in a different dimension – they really think a few field trips to the mortal world's gonna make us feel any less freakish?"

"Hey, anything's better than that trip to the Heavens last year," Caleb Jones, the short and skinny guy sitting behind Chris shivered, his forked tongue flicking between his teeth involuntarily. "I thought the Elders were gonna smite me."

The teenager sitting on the other side of Wyatt sighed irritably. "Well, you _are _a demon."

"Half." Caleb corrected automatically before shrinking back in his seat and pretending to take an interest in the scenery. He was the child of a Manticore and a mortal that was saved by the Charmed Ones when he was just a baby. It was Paige who had gotten him into Magic School against all the rules, and even four years later there were still a lot of people who did not agree with this decision.

"Half-evil is still evil."

"James, knock it off," Wyatt interceded in a tone that made the guy who was built like an ox back down. James Cook was a recent addition to the group following the formation of the Magic School football team that Wyatt had quickly become the captain of. This didn't surprise anyone.

The back of the bus dropped into silence for a while until Paige rose to her feet and bravely made her way down the aisle. By the time she had made it her naturally pale skin was three shades whiter and she gripped a hold of the seat-backs as if they were her lifelines. As they were in the mortal world she had shed her teacher's cloak and gone for some jeans and a t-shirt that were slightly more incognito. "It's strangely quiet back here, is something wrong?"

James snuck a glare at Caleb. Paige caught it and raised an eyebrow at him but he didn't say a word. She then looked down at her youngest nephew. "Are you alright there Chris?"

"Fine," Chris replied without looking up. "You?"

"Fantastic," Paige answered. Wyatt grinned at them, earning himself a scowl from his aunt/teacher. She then turned back to Chris. "I wanted to ask you about that assignment I gave you. You know – the one that was due in last week?"

Chris bravely looked up and met her gaze and said with a completely straight face "Mel ate it."

Behind him Wyatt and Caleb were trying hard not to laugh, and even the usually moody Ashleigh cracked a smile. Paige just stared at her nephew, waiting for him to smirk or show a sign that he was lying. But he just stared right back. "You are far too good at that," Paige said eventually, something about her tone a little off. "You can make even the most blatant lies sound like the gospel truth."

Chris shrugged. "It's a gift."

Paige rolled her eyes, seemed to regret the action, and then moved on back up the bus, asking various other students about overdue homework. Caleb leaned forward and clapped Chris on the shoulder. "How do you do that? If I tried that I'd get detention for a week!"

"Teacher's pet," James jibed, earning himself a warning look from Wyatt. "What? How else do you explain him getting skipped ahead two grades?"

"Maybe because I'm a genius?" Chris retorted with mock-arrogance.

"Yeah right," James huffed. "It's because you're a Halliwell and you know it."

Wyatt leaned forward, putting himself in the middle of the glaring contest between the two of them. "Hang on, why didn't I get skipped ahead two grades then?"

"Why don't you all just shut up? Alright?" Ashleigh interrupted before James could come up with an answer. She then put in her earphones and turned her music up loud enough to be heard by everyone else regardless. "_Men_."

Once again, the five of them lapsed into silence; and they weren't even halfway there yet.

It didn't take long for James to get bored. He started tapping his foot and drumming his fingers on his leg, anything to try and break the tedium. He looked around the bus, his spot at the back giving him the perfect vantage point. Paige had made it back to her seat at the front and she was now having a conversation with the driver and another teacher while she organised a huge stack of paper.

About halfway down the bus there were two students, a girl by the window called Hayden Church and a boy sitting next to her, Kirk Ulrich. In front of them was an empty bench. James grinned to himself. In an instant, the monotony of the coach journey was broken.

With barely a conscious thought James tapped into his power of astral projection, his current form slumping in his seat while he propelled himself forward to the empty bench. Kirk, who had been totally engrossed in his games console, jumped sky high – literally.

"Beam me up, Scotty!" James yelled triumphantly up at the now levitating teenager, who after getting over the shock glared hatefully down at him. The bus erupted in giggles, most of the laughter coming from the fact that something, _anything_, had happened on the coach ride of hell.

"James Cook!" Paige snapped as she climbed to her feet. "Return to your seat, now!"

James swivelled round to smile sweetly at her, and then gestured at his unconscious form at the back of the bus. "But I am in my seat, Miss."

"Do you want to be in detention until you're forty?" Paige asked threateningly, making James flinch ever-so-slightly. "No? Then I suggest you do as you're damn well told _without_ the attitude!"

"Yes Ma'am," James threw in one last jibe before vanishing with a red glow and waking up back in his seat. He grinned at Wyatt who just raised his eyebrows at him. The jock shrugged and then leaned forward to see what Ashleigh thought of his antics, but she just rolled her eyes at him and continued ignoring everyone.

Paige gave a long suffering sigh and then noticed that Kirk was still hovering 5ft in the air. Thankfully the other drivers on the freeway were too caught up in their own worlds to have noticed yet. "Kirk, you can come down now."

"Right," Kirk agreed, his power abruptly shutting off and dropping him back into his seat without an ounce of dignity. "Ow."

"Are you alright?" Hayden asked, her big brown eyes studying him sympathetically.

"I hate that guy," Kirk growled under his breath. He then caught Hayden's look and tried to sound a little bit more light-hearted. "So unoriginal. You'd think by now that he'd come up with some better material."

Hayden smiled at him, before turning back to her book and riding out the rest of the journey in comfortable silence.

* * *

When they finally arrived in Los Angeles and the bus door hissed open, there was a desperate mass exodus of teenagers. It wasn't the excitement of the field trip that motivated them, but the novel concept of fresh air and solid ground. It was late September but it was still warm with a nice breeze keeping it refreshingly cool. Anything was better than the non-air conditioned bus.

But before the magic school students could fully appreciate the sunshine they were herded inside the building. They were shuffled off to one side out of the way of everyone else while Paige and another teacher were conversing with one of the museum's representatives.

While they waited, rather impatiently, Chris's attention was drawn to one of the smaller exhibits that littered the entrance hall. A massive fossilized skeleton loomed down at them, its bones an oily shade of brown. "Now that's cool," James, of all people, said appreciatively.

"Apatosaurus, late Jurassic – one of the largest known land animals," Chris replied matter-of-factly.

"Trust you to know that, poindexter," James scoffed.

Chris just smiled knowingly and then pointed underneath the colossal fossil. "Thanks. I just read the plaque."

"People! Gather round please!" Paige called before James could come up with a retort. "As you are all nearly adults now, we've decided that we're not going to do a guided tour. Instead you are going to be left to your own devices…"

An excited whisper rippled through the small crowd of students.

"…however…" Paige continued holding up the stack of paper she had been organising on the bus, causing the gathering to groan. "You will have a worksheet each to complete – failure to do so will result in death by detention. You will also be required to attend a lecture in the California History exhibit downstairs at 2 o'clock. Absence is not an option. Understood?"

A vague chorus of 'yes-miss' followed and the worksheets were doled out as the group dispersed. The five of them, Wyatt, Chris, Caleb, Ashleigh and James, wandered away aimlessly, breaking away from the bulk of students that had headed straight for the Dinosaur exhibit. They ended up in one of the newer wings that was dedicated to the Ancient Greek and Roman exhibits.

As they walked, Ashleigh held up her worksheet distastefully. "Really, paper?" A couple of other museum-goers had glanced curiously at the fluttery white things the odd students were given as they walked past. "Way to be low-key – the mortals are probably wondering what century we're from."

Their group came to a stop off to one side, under the watchful gaze of a giant statue of Poseidon; his trident pointed threateningly at them. "I know, right," James was quick to agree as he pulled out his iPad7. "Everything's computerised these days."

"Oh, is that new?" Ashleigh feigned interest. Wyatt glanced over at her, catching the subtle sarcasm in her tone and grinning knowingly.

"Yeah, I had it on pre-order; only just got it this morning," James answered, oblivious, missing Ashleigh's eye roll as he began prattling on about its 'awesome new features'.

Chris tuned out his semi-not-really-friend's monologue and leaned back against the cool brick wall, taking in the sights around him. The exhibit was quite busy; a lady was telling her young sons some of the old Greek myths while pointing at the artefacts, while a gaggle of mortal schoolgirls giggled immaturely at a naked statue of Zeus.

But there was one part of the hall that was completely deserted. Directly opposite where they were loitering was a pair of grand oak doors that didn't quite fit in with everything else. As Chris watched, he realised that not a single mortal paid it any mind, as if they couldn't see it at all, while Chris himself could do nothing but stare. He didn't move, but somehow he felt drawn to it, even as a deeper instinct warned him away.

"What's wrong?" Wyatt asked, interrupting Chris's staring contest with the door. His tone immediately drew the attention of the others.

"Nothing," Chris denied automatically, but then changed his mind. "Do you sense something a little…_off_?"

Wyatt tilted his head the way he did when he was using his less-destructive powers, and then turned to look at the door as well. "It's coming from over there."

"Well, let's go check it out." James decided, heading off without waiting for a consensus. Wyatt followed, curiosity making him ignore the gut feeling that something wasn't right. After a moment of hesitation, Chris joined them, catching up just as they reached the door. James gave it a shove, but it didn't budge. "Huh. Heavier than it looks."

"Maybe you should try turning the handle?" Ashleigh retorted as she stepped forward, grasping the thick iron ring of the door knocker and giving it a twist. With a loud squeal that no one other than them could apparently hear, the ominous door opened. Ashleigh gave James the I-told-you-so look that made him wince, and then stepped across the threshold. "Woah."

Inside was a treasure trove of artefacts from several eras, all jumbled up together with no rhyme nor reason. Against one wall was a menagerie of fossil dinosaurs and taxidermy animals, mingled in with a collection of Roman pottery and Stone Age tools. On the other side was a garden of statues, a stack of old books, a display case of snake skins and what looked to be a train set on the floor. But it was nothing compared to the crown jewel at the back of the room.

Two pristine columns held up a huge slab of chiselled marble, creating an ornate archway. Images of a huge beast frozen mid roar was interspersed with an odd repeating pattern of swirling lines. Glued to the wall behind it, visible through the arch, was a large sign saying in block capital letters:

DO NOT TOUCH THE EXHIBITS

The eerie feeling was coming from the archway, Chris was sure of it. There was something wrong about it, and a voice inside his head was yelling at him that they should leave. But there was also that inquisitive pull that was over-riding his cautious mind and drawing him forwards despite his best efforts.

Suddenly, another door materialised between two statues, this one metal and modern-looking. Kirk Ulrich and Hayden Church stepped out of the African Land Mammals exhibit and blinked at the five of them in surprise. "What are you doing in here?"

"I was about to ask you the same question," Wyatt replied, not unkindly. He then addressed Hayden, who was a pretty powerful clairvoyant. "Did you sense the same thing?"

"The arch," Hayden replied, immediately homing in and confirming Chris's suspicions. She then saw James reaching out towards the cold stone and cried "Don't touch it!"

"Why not?" James asked, not retracting his hand.

Ashleigh beat Hayden to an answer with her usual brand of deadpan sarcasm. "Because there's a massive sign saying DO NOT TOUCH?"

"Whatever," James shrugged and placed his hand on the column; causing the gathered teenagers to draw in expectant breaths. "See. Nothing happened."

Then the floor began to rumble, the artefacts shaking and toppling to the ground in a symphony of crashing ceramics. The light blew out with a resounding crack and plunged them all into darkness. The quake built to a crescendo, throwing the teenagers painfully off of their feet. And then came a light so bright after the darkness that it left them temporarily blinded.

Even before she could see, Ashleigh sighed resignedly from where she was crumpled on the floor.

"You just _had_ to touch it, didn't you?"

* * *

**I know there's quite a few OCs in here, but I needed them to populate Magic School – for what I've got in mind it doesn't make sense if its just Wyatt and Chris lol. Please let me know what you think! **


	2. No Exit

**Charmed -:- Labyrinth**

**Author's Note(s):**

Thank you very much to **Guest** and **CharmedOpal** for reviewing the first chapter, I'm glad you're liking it so far and that I'm not the only one who loves a smartass :P And also to the second **Guest** review; this is in the same universe as my other Charmed fic and Chris can't self-heal in that one either. For me I love Chris as the underdog who even though he isn't as overtly powerful as Wyatt, he could still match him purely because he uses the powers he does have smarter - I'm not personally a big fan of super-powerful Chris, which is why I like to keep him simple lol But that's just me.

Anyway - we are back with a next day update, purely because I wrote half of this on my lunch break at work. I can't guarantee a repeat tomorrow, but this fic is proving to be very easy to write so it _shouldn't_ be too difficult to keep up a good pace... fingers crossed!

I've rambled enough now - Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter Two  
****-:-  
****No Exit**

"Ow."

Wiser words had never been spoken.

As he blinked away the last of the haze brought on by the bright flash of light, Chris rubbed absently at the nice bruise that would soon be forming on his elbow after his rather undignified landing on the floor. "That was graceful."

He glanced around him as he pushed himself up and onto his knees, disorientated to find just how much things had changed in a few seconds. Whereas before they had been standing on wooden floorboards, as the earth had shook they had somehow managed to land on an unforgiving sandstone floor. The artefacts had all vanished too, leaving them in an empty 8x8 room lit purely by an antique brazier that hung precariously above them.

Well, it was almost empty.

"Wo-agh!" Caleb exclaimed intelligently as he pulled himself upright and came face-to-face with one of the room's occupants. The sightless eye sockets of a human skull gazed back, its jaw dangling open in an eternal scream. "What the hell?!"

"It's a skeleton," Ashleigh answered helpfully as she lifted one of the bony hands and made it wave cheerfully at the half-demon.

"I can see that!" Caleb retorted, attempting to salvage some of his manhood. And then he took a look around their new home and the several other long-dead inmates. "Oh god. There's more of them."

"Is everyone alright?" Wyatt asked, tactfully steering the conversation away from the skeletons. He rubbed at a cut on his hand that was taking its sweet time to heal. "Anyone hurt?"

Chris shook his head when Wyatt looked at him as he was assessing everyone's general health, and then pulled himself to his feet and took a closer look at their surroundings. He carelessly brushed the dust from his clothes, but then paused and looked from his hands to the floor, the strange powder catching his curiosity.

"I was fine until _genius _here proved that he was illiterate!" Kirk grumbled gesturing at James, who was at least able to look slightly contrite for a whole millisecond before he jumped on the defensive.

"How was I supposed to know that this would happen, huh?" he countered back using his considerable height to overshadow Kirk.

Chris ignored them as they inevitably spiralled into an argument, his eyes on the floor. The powder blanketed the sandstone, barely half and inch thick in most places, but it had built up into metre high drifts against one wall – the one wall where the majority of the skeletons had accumulated. The powder was the wrong consistency to be sand, and Chris had the sneaking suspicion that it might be something a bit more… _organic._

"Will the pair of you please shut up!" Ashleigh snapped, drawing Chris's attention back to the others. "Can we just get out of here please?"

She then looked pointedly at Wyatt who had stayed eerily quiet during the fight when usually he would have been the one to intercede. He stared down at the cut on his hand that still hadn't healed, an odd expression on his face that was not in the slightest bit comforting. "I don't want to alarm anyone," he said carefully. "But my powers aren't working."

"Huh?" James grunted.

"What do you mean _your _powers aren't working?" Kirk asked, exaggerating the 'your' in reference to Wyatt's almighty Twice-Blessed-ness.

"I _mean_: my powers aren't working," Wyatt replied slowly as if speaking to a kindergartner. "I can't _orb_."

Though he already suspected the likely result, Chris decided to give his own powers a try. As predicted, nothing happened. "I can't either."

"What?!" James hissed, ever-so-slightly panicked. He then closed his eyes and tried to astral project, straining again and again until he went red in the face. The others began testing their own powers as well; Kirk attempting to levitate, Caleb trying to shimmer and Ashleigh clicking her fingers repeatedly to try and ignite her pyrokinesis.

"Oh shit," Kirk muttered after nearly a whole five minutes had passed without a single spark of magic. "Our powers aren't working."

Ashleigh rolled her eyes. "Thank you, Captain Obvious."

Kirk just glared at her in reply. Caleb meanwhile had discovered that at least some things were still the same. He stuck out his tongue and caught it between finger and thumb, and then stretched it out far enough that it could see that the end was still as forked as ever. He sighed awkwardly around his tongue "Ma ung's 'ill 'eeky."

"Wonderful," James deadpanned. "And that helps us, how?"

Caleb let his tongue go with an audible snap and shrugged.

"Now what do we do?" Hayden asked quietly. Expectant gazes all turned on Wyatt who shifted uncomfortably. He then took a deep breath and Chris could see his brother putting on his confident mask. It was unfair how they had all turned to him, right then Wyatt was just as human as the rest of them, but right of the bat everyone had already put their faith in him. For once Chris was incredibly not-jealous of his famous, all-powerful older sibling.

"Right," Wyatt began, just to break the silence. "Let's start by finding a way out of here, shall we?"

It was then that everyone seemed to realise that they were in a stone box with no doors and only a flock of skeletons for company. The walls were made of large slabs of rock and rose up about seven ft. tall on all sides. It felt uncomfortably like a pen.

Chris headed towards the side of the room that was home to the skeletons, figuring that maybe the drifts were relevant somehow; there wasn't any obvious explanation for it after all. His gaze was drawn to the wall that was covered in haphazard scratches. He brushed some of the dust off, realising that the scratches were actually words – the same phrase written over and over again in several languages.

Omnilingualism was one of the few Whitelighter gifts he had inherited that Wyatt had not, and even though his powers weren't actually working at that particular moment Chris had always had a gift for languages. As he uncovered more of the rudimentary etchings he recognised some Latin, Japanese, Greek, French, Russian and even some Mandarin; all saying the same thing:

NO EXIT.

"Well," Hayden said after a few minutes, pointing up with a 'duh' expression on her face. "There's no roof."

Kirk followed her hand, saw the open gap and grinned broadly at her. He then hugged her briefly but warmly, turning back to study their chance of freedom before he could see her cheeks flush red from the contact.

Above them two thick wooden beams crossed, cutting what would have been the ceiling into quarters. From the centre hung the crude chandelier, its ring of candles occasionally dripping wax on the floor. Beyond that there was nothing but darkness, as if it were night time wherever they were, but the stars had all vanished. It wasn't exactly inviting.

_Well that doesn't make any sense_, Chris thought to himself, squinting back at the scratched words. _Why write 'no exit' when there blatantly is one?_

"Right," Wyatt nodded, assessing the best way to go about reaching the top. "Jay, give me a leg up."

"Okay," James agreed, coming to kneel at the base of the wall where the beam intersected above. Wyatt then used him as a step so that he could just about reach the top, straining just a little to pull himself all the way up. "What do you see?"

Wyatt was surprised to find that there wasn't a sharp drop on the other side of the wall. Instead he found himself crouching in bed of tall grass. That's all there was, as far as the eye could see. Aside from their little square hole in the middle, there was nothing but an endless field. Where the hell were they?

"Well? What's up there?" Ashleigh called impatiently.

"Uh…" Wyatt didn't really know how to answer. "Not a whole lot really."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kirk asked incredulously, his foot tapping impatiently.

While Wyatt investigated the outside, Chris kept focusing on the wall, trying to figure out what he was missing. In the middle of the scratches there was a long rectangle carved into the wall full of smaller squares, each individually carved with repeating symbols. The more Chris studied it, the more it was beginning to look like a combination lock. _But why?_

James, who had stood up once Wyatt had climbed up, knelt back down again and gestured at the others. "Who's next?"

Kirk shrugged and stepped forward to volunteer, but Chris gestured at them to wait, knowing that something wasn't right. "I don't think that's such a good idea."

"Why?" James asked. "We want out, so let's get out, right?"

For the first time that day, he and Kirk were in agreement. The smaller teen stepped up on James's knee and took the hand that Wyatt offered him.

Chris's eyes flickered from the wall down to the skeletons around him. He then noted how most of them were not whole. In fact, a few of them appeared to only actually be _half_ of a human skeleton. Chris looked up to the ceiling, and then back down again, a theory clicking in his mind that he didn't like. Before he could voice it however, everything went horribly wrong.

They were thrown into darkness as the chandelier disappeared, along with the two beams that were holding it up. The only light came from the odd glow of the night sky way above them. The sudden loss of light was enough to set Kirk of balance, his grip on Wyatt's hand slipping and sending him plummeting to the floor.

"Ow!" he yelped as he landed on James and sent them both sprawling.

Like a total eclipse, a huge shadow then began to move across the sky, as if someone was sliding a lid closed on a box. Abruptly, Chris realised that was exactly what was happening – and his brother was on the outside.

"Wy! Come down!" he yelled above the sound of scraping stone. Thankfully, Wyatt decided not to argue and dropped down just as the ceiling cut off the last of the outside world. Chris breathed a small sigh of relief - getting split up here was not an option - and then he reached into his rucksack and pulled out his phone. The screen cast them all in an eerie glow, but it was better than the darkness.

"Now what?" James demanded. Ashleigh and Caleb pulled out their cell phones as well, just about illuminating the small space.

"We'll think of something," Wyatt said with far more confidence than he felt. He then turned to Chris with question in his eyes. It was pretty common knowledge that of the two brothers he was the brain to Wyatt's brawn, and right then it was intelligence that they needed. Chris turned back to the wall, glaring at the square carvings as if they would somehow surrender the answer if put under intense scrutiny.

"That's just great! We are stuck in a stone box in the middle of freaking nowhere and our only chance of escape just vanished!" Kirk ranted, his face growing pale in the glow of the cell phones.

"Uh guys…" Caleb muttered.

Kirk ignored him. "And air! We're going to run out of air! Suffocate on our own poisonous breath and slowly asphyxiate and die!"

"Guys…"

"Kirk, are you claustrophobic by any chance?" Ashleigh asked.

Kirk shook his head vehemently. "What? No! I just think the fact that we are all going to die horribly is a pretty acceptable thing to get worked up about!"

"Guys!" Caleb shouted, surprising even himself as six pairs of startled eyes all turned on him at once. "Is it just me, or is this place getting smaller?"

Hayden turned on the spot to find that she was right next to the wall that had been a few metres away just a little while ago. "Oh god. He's right!"

"WHAT?!" Kirk almost shrieked, beginning to hyperventilate. Hayden was by his side in an instant, trying to sound reassuring even though she herself was shaking as the walls closed in on them.

"I thought you weren't claustrophobic," Ashleigh pointed out, smirking at the panicking teen despite the situation.

Staring at the symbols etched in the stones, Chris finally recognised them as Ancient Greek – though in his defence, it wasn't exactly a language he was well versed in. Starting at the left hand side, Chris pushed at the first column, relieved to find that it did indeed move like a dial on a combination lock. He kept turning it, listening to the quiet ticking underneath the sound of grinding stone and heavy panicked breaths.

A louder thunk sounded as he reached the symbol: **γʹ **

"Chris…" Wyatt muttered motivationally. "Now would be a good time for you to prove that you're a genius, don't you think?"

Chris took a deep breath and replied through clenched teeth "Working on it…"

The 8x8 room had quickly become a 3x3 cell, the seven of them crowding together in what little space was left. "Work a little _faster_…"

Chris blocked them all out, quite a task considering the space was getting so small that they had no choice but to invade his personal space. He didn't have time to crack the rest of the combination the same way – he still had six more symbols to figure out! No, he would have to make a guess, and it would have to be a good one.

_γʹ - gamma… three…?_

_Could it be that simple?_

There was no more time to second guess. He could feel Ashleigh pressed against his back as the space shrunk even smaller. The skeletons crumbled as stone mercilessly crushed them; their disintegrated bones adding to the mass of dust.

Chris spun the other dials as quickly as he could, every successful 'thunk' making his confidence grow.

**αʹ δʹ αʹ εʹ θʹ βʹ**

As the last symbol clicked into place the wall made an ominous rumbling noise. Too slowly for his liking it gradually began to rise, a golden light shining through the growing opening.

Not able to wait any longer, Kirk dropped and rolled through the small gap, taking a deep breath as he discovered the other side wasn't a shrinking closet of death. At least, not yet that is. The others quickly followed suit until all of them were safely on the other side. Not that it appeared to be much better though.

"Phew," Kirk murmured as he leaned heavily against the wall and closed his eyes. "That was _way_ too close."

"You weren't worried at all, were you?" Ashleigh jibed with a friendly half-smile. Kirk grinned sheepishly at her, silently apologizing for his psychotic break before. She then turned to Chris who was putting his phone back in his bag. "How did you do that?"

Chris shrugged self-consciously. "I kinda… guessed."

"That's comforting," James muttered under his breath.

"It was a combination, right?" Ashleigh persisted, clearly impressed. "How did you figure it out?"

"Um…" Chris hesitated, not entirely sure if he should admit the truth. Then he decided to just go for it – he did just save all of their lives after all. He looked to Wyatt. "I got it from that film Mel made us watch the other night – the one with monkey and the guy with a lisp."

Wyatt furrowed his brow "You mean '_Night at the Museum'_?_"_

"Seriously?" Ashleigh asked with a grin.

"Yeah," Chris admitted. "The combination in the film was pi, and once I figured out that the first number was three, I kinda just went with it."

Ashleigh lightly punched him on the arm. "Nice."

"Okay, this is all very wonderful," James interrupted. "Thanks for not guessing wrong and all that. But has nobody else noticed that we're not exactly home free yet?"

Chris had to admit that James was right; even though the jock had just ended the only non-sarcastic conversation he had ever had with Ashleigh. Ever. They were still stuck god knew where, with no idea as to why or how they were supposed to get back home. Now they were in an endless sandstone corridor that was lit intermittently by the torch braziers on the walls.

They definitely weren't in California anymore.

"We can't go back," Wyatt gestured at the wall that had closed behind them, shutting off that exit. He then pointed the other way. "So I guess we're going that way."

"And then what?" Kirk asked tiredly. "How do we know that that leads to an exit?"

"We don't," Wyatt replied coolly. "But I don't see any other options, do you?"

Kirk sighed resignedly and shook his head. Wyatt took this as his cue to lead their merry little troupe on their quest deeper into the catacombs, silently hoping that the _only _way was also the _right_ way. Kirk tagged on to the end and muttered under his breath

"Worst. Field trip. Ever."

* * *

**Yay! They survived the first challenge! Smart little Chris figured it out just as we knew he would :P Little do they know that I have so many more fun things in store for them – mwahahaha!**

**Please Review!**


	3. The Dog Ate My Homework

**Charmed -:- Labyrinth**

**Author's Note(s):**

Thanks again to **CharmedOpal** for reviewing; you're right about the Chris/Ashleigh thing, but I'm not really much of a shipper or a romance writer so I highly doubt that it will come to anything more than a slightly implied crush lol. To **rosmarlin**, I'm glad you're liking Chris as my brainy hero :P Thank you for commenting!

And thank you to **AliHal**, glad that you're liking the story so far! I know that there's a lot of disagreement over Chris's power status, along with all of the next generation to be honest, there are so many different interpretations on fanfic alone lol. This is just my version which fits in the universe I created with my other fic, where Chris is awesome in other ways and yes, Melinda exists (I had this debate on _Borrowed Time_ - I've come to the conclusion each to their own) but don't worry; beyond that brief mention she never appears in this fic again, this is purely a Wyatt and Chris adventure :P

To all who have alerted this fic - thank you for coming back for _another_ next day update! My schedule's a little hectic the next couple days so I doubt this will happen again, but I should be able to get some more up on Thursday/Friday, here's hoping!

Now I've finished filling my word count with author's notes - Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter Three  
****-:-  
****The Dog Ate My Homework**

"Well, this is fun."

Chris turned and gave Kirk a look without missing a step, attempting to silence the teen before he could inevitably start another argument. They had been walking for nearly an hour by now, the monotony broken up by regular intervals of immature spats; the seven of them having no choice but to follow the twisting route dictated by the corridor.

"Does anyone else get the feeling that we're being led somewhere?" Caleb asked, his tongue flickering between his teeth nervously.

"There's only one way, idiot," James answered derisively. "It's not like we can go anywhere else."

"That's what I mean," Caleb replied with forced patience. "Why is there only one way? What's at the end of this tunnel? Were we sent here? If so, by who? And what do they want?"

James rolled his eyes. "If you figure it out Sherlock, let us know."

They kept walking onwards, none of them really paying attention to the slight change in the yellow brick walls. Where they had once been smooth, now faint hieroglyphs and other shallow etchings began to materialise; getting more and more prominent the that further they walked. The gradient of the ground changed too, gradually leading them downwards. Even the air changed almost imperceptibly, becoming a little fresher as if someone had opened a window in a stuffy room.

"Do you reckon its demons?" Kirk asked. Now that the questions were out in the open, they were just begging to be answered, even if they were totally guessing.

"Nah," Chris shook his head. Ever since the Ultimate Battle was won by the Charmed Ones the underworld population had backed off majorly. Not to say that they had gone completely; demonic attacks still happened, they were just nowhere near as frequent as before. "I can't imagine a demon being this creative – they would have shown up and gloated by now. Besides, this feels… _older_, somehow."

Hayden nodded. "The feeling I got from the archway was more like when Mr Wyatt teaches us Ancient Magic. It reaches you at a deeper level."

"Or," James put in his two cents, "there could have been a gas leak at the museum and this is just some mass hallucination."

Ashleigh glared at him over her shoulder. "Sarcasm is _my_ thing."

James shrugged. "It's a valid theory."

"Alright," Kirk retorted. "Maybe we've been abducted by aliens who are watching us like rats in a maze, laughing hysterically at our lowly earthling intelligence."

"Or," Caleb joined in. "This is some sort of social science experiment to see which one of us will lose it and kill the others first - like that old slasher movie with a trillion sequels."

"I reckon James would snap first," Kirk jibed.

"And kill you," James countered.

"Actually, James would die first," Ashleigh pointed out matter-of-factly. "In horror movies the black guy always dies first."

Without missing a beat James came right back with a lewd look on his face "Followed quickly by the ditzy blonde who has mysteriously lost half her clothing."

Ashleigh, the only blonde female present, scowled at James and his prowling eyes. She then opened her mouth to say something scathing back, but thankfully Wyatt intervened. "Life is_ not_ a horror movie. _No one_ is going to die in _any_ order. And when we find whoever of whatever is behind this we are going to kick its ass. Got it?"

Tagging along at the back of the group Chris rolled his eyes, knowing the brief silence his brother had instilled wouldn't last long with this group. He glanced down at his watch to find another twenty minutes had passed without anything happening, which didn't exactly make him feel safer. A gut instinct told him not to grow complacent in the short peace – worst things were yet to come.

He was so busy thinking about that, that he nearly tripped over a raised stone. He looked down to find that the flat path they had been following had suddenly become overgrown; grass and weeds sprouting between cracks made by the tree roots growing beneath. "Huh?"

"Watch your step," Wyatt called back from the front, his warning followed by several mutterings of '_bit late, Wy'_. He then slowed his pace as everything began to change around them. "Well, this is new."

Above them the ceiling had once again vanished, revealing a slightly different night sky. This one was brightly illuminated by a big full moon and a dense smattering of stars. The walls widened on either side of them as they walked cautiously onwards, like the mouth of the river as it meets the sea. After a few more yards, the walls crumbled into ruin, the broken ground giving way to open grassland.

They all stood in silence for a good few moments, trying to figure out where the hell they had ended up, and what would happen next.

"Okay, I'll bite," Asheligh said eventually. "Now what?"

A low rumbling reverbed beneath their feet, travelling like a wave under the ground. Ahead of them a whole forest sprung up from nowhere, ancient species of trees morphing from saplings to towering conifers in a matter of seconds. Once the wood was fully grown a cold wind blew in from behind them, nearly throwing them off of their feet. With a force like a stampede the wind flattened a path in the tall grass, leading them neatly straight into the dark wood.

To top it off, a wolf chose that moment to howl at the full moon.

"I vote we _don't _go that way," Caleb muttered once the wind had died.

"Agreed." Kirk turned around quickly only to come to a stunned stop. "Umm… where did the tunnel go?"

A raging river thundered behind them where the corridor had been less than a minute before. White water rapids frothed over vicious looking rocks, the spray created from the force of the current sparkling in the starlight as it rained down on them.

"Where the hell did that come from?!" James demanded, exasperated.

"You just witnessed a forest sprout out of nowhere, and you're surprised by a river?" Ashleigh asked with a quirked brow.

Caleb shifted uncomfortably, staying carefully away from the river bank. "Erm… I don't do well in water…"

"_No one_ does well in water like that," Kirk replied. "There is no way we are getting across that."

"We're not even trying," Wyatt agreed, not willing to take the high risk of them getting swept away and most likely killed, especially when there was no guarantee that there was anything better on the other side. For all they knew they could get across and find the exact same foreboding forest there as well. This place didn't exactly obey the laws of physics. "That just leaves… the woods…"

"Maybe we can try and go around it?" Hayden suggested. "We don't have to follow the path, do we?"

As if in reply to her proposal the tall blades of grass rustled ominously.

"There's something in the grass…" Caleb muttered as they all strained to get a look at what was causing the disturbance in the stalks. Wyatt, deciding to test the unseen enemy, reached into his rucksack and pulled the lunch Piper had made for him despite his protests that he would buy something at the museum. With the arm that had landed him captainship of the football team, he threw the brown paper bag out into the field.

Several… _things_… all converged at the spot where the lunch had landed. The grass shook violently for a few seconds, the wet sound of tearing and chewing resounding in the clear night air. Then just to prove a point, the remnants of the ill-fated lunch were tossed back to the astounded teens.

"O-kay…" Ashleigh drew out the two syllables. "Death trap river, carnivorous grass, or creepy forest – any takers?"

"I'm thinking the forest is the lesser of three evils," Wyatt conceded, swinging his bag back up on his shoulder and looking distastefully at his lost lunch. "Let's get this over with."

The eldest Halliwell once again took the lead, carefully keeping to the path as they headed exactly where some unknown force was guiding them. Caleb followed closely behind him, his keen eyes on the grass and his snake-like tongue working overtime as it tasted for danger on the air. Then there was Ashleigh with James right on her tail as if he were protecting her. She rolled her eyes at him and doubled her pace to catch up to Caleb. At the back Hayden and Kirk walked side-by-side talking quietly, with Chris a few yards behind watching their six.

It took five minutes for them to cross the grassland before they entered the woods; the ground becoming muddy and slippery with leaves that disguised the tree roots that did their best to trip them up. They moved cautiously, just waiting for the inevitable moment when some big bad would jump out and get them. The deeper into the forest they went, the thicker the tree canopy got, blocking the moonlight and leaving them in the dark.

"Anyone else feel like we're being watched?" James asked, finding himself whispering in the freaky setting.

"We are," Caleb confirmed. "Something's stalking us."

"Great…" Kirk muttered, his eyes flickering around even though it was too dark make anything out. "Now I'm _really _freaked out…"

At the back, Chris walked a few steps backwards and scanned their surroundings as best he could. His eyes were beginning to adjust in the low light, but he still couldn't see anything but trees. Somewhere off to his left he heard a twig snap under something's foot and all the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. Feeling vulnerable on his own, he made to close the distance between him and the others.

That was when something huge and hairy leapt out of thin air.

"Agh!" Chris yelped as the heavy weight smacked into him, sending him plummeting to the forest floor. Sharp claws dug into his arm as he tried to twist around on the ground, keeping him pinned down. Fetid breath warmed his skin as strong jaws clamped around his rucksack and began ripping it to shreds.

"Chris!" Wyatt yelled as he, Caleb and James came running. They began kicking the creature and grabbing at Chris to try and pull the two of them apart. Chris, for his part, managed to free one of the straps, allowing him to turn on his back and scrabble back a little. But the other strap was caught, the creature blocking him from losing the bag with the paw that was painfully trapping his arm.

Just as Chris was sure that his arm was about to be wrench from its socket, a stream of fire split the sky above him. The horrible smell of burnt fur instantly filled his nostrils, followed by the whimpering of a wounded dog as the weight on his arm was abruptly alleviated. The creature vanished into the trees, its tail stuck firmly between its legs.

Chris looked up to see Ashleigh grinning maniacally, a can of hairspray in one hand and a zippo in the other. "Thanks."

"You're welcome," she replied with a strange glint in her eyes, far too happy for having just torched a wild animal. She didn't need her powers to be a crazy pyromaniac – all she needed was a lighter and she was happy.

Wyatt helped drag Chris up and onto unsteady feet; his blue eyes full of concern as they looked his little brother over. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," Chris nodded, noting that the wound on his arm wasn't as bad as it had felt. Two long gashes were torn in his jacket, the thick leather enough to prevent him from being completely torn to shreds. He could feel that he was bleeding, but he figured it wasn't that much and chose to ignore it. "Just took me by surprise is all. What the hell was it anyway?"

"A wolf," Hayden answered. "There's probably a whole pack of them out there."

"Right, we need to stick together," Wyatt instructed, and then threw a half-smile at his brother. "It probably went after you because you're the smallest and were trailing behind. They shouldn't bother us if we look like difficult prey."

"That is if they are like normal wolves," Kirk pointed out. "This place has been anything _but_ normal."

"True," Wyatt agreed. "But that's the best idea I've got. Let's just keep moving and hope that there's an end to this freaking wood."

Everyone concurred with that sentiment. They all kept a wary watch on their surroundings as they gathered together and prepared to set off again.

Chris stared down at the tattered remains of his rucksack, its destroyed contents scattered on the ground around it. He picked up on the fluttering of white in the breeze, recognising the shredded paper as the worksheet Paige had given them back at the museum, the weirdest thought occurring to him.

"Chris…?" Wyatt prompted when he noticed that his brother wasn't following. Chris turned and gave a satirical chuckle.

"That wolf just ate my homework."

* * *

The seven teens trekked through the woods for another fifteen minutes, not entirely sure if they were going the right way – or if there even _was_ a right way.

Eventually they came into a large clearing, the break in the trees once again allowing the moonlight to reach them. Eerily, the clearing was the shape of a perfect circle unlike anything found in nature. The ground was clear of leaves and grass, the mud turning to fine sand. In the centre there was a large square stone raised slightly off of the ground. Surrounding it were the long-dead remains of several fires, as if someone had been warding away the wolves.

"At least we know we're not the first ones to make it out of the shrinking room," Kirk noted as they stepped onto the sand. He gestured to the edge of the stone where a crude tent had been erected; a backpack and some other supplies still inside. "Someone else was here."

"What happened to them, do you think?" Caleb asked, observing that the campsite didn't look ransacked like it would after an animal attack.

"The wolves ate them, duh," James answered, apparently not seeing what Caleb did. For the sake of avoiding another argument, the half-demon didn't push the issue.

Ashleigh wandered ahead and jumped up onto the large stone. "What do you reckon this is?"

Chris came over and joined her, studying the slab. He quickly realised that it was actually two stones; a large crack running down the middle and severing it in half. Along the crevice there were shallow scratches as if someone had tried to pry the stones apart with their bare hands. "I think it's a door."

"The way out?" Kirk asked eagerly.

"Maybe," Chris shrugged, looking around curiously. Something shiny caught his eye and he hopped off the other side of the stone and crouched down. With a tug that pulled sharply at his wounded arm he yanked free a two metre long metal pole. All around the stone there was an odd assortment of objects half-buried in the sand. "Huh…"

A long, blood-chilling howl reached the clearing, sounding far too close for comfort.

Immediately Ashleigh pulled out her hairspray and lighter, ready to do battle. Everyone else snapped to attention, trying to pinpoint where the howl had come from, when an answering call echoed the first. Then another.

Then another.

"Chris, do you reckon you can open it?" Wyatt asked, gesturing at the stone.

Chris chewed his lip and shrugged – he wasn't even 100% sure that it was in fact a door. It was a complete guess, though a very small voice in his head was telling him he was right. "I can try."

"If you don't we are all going to be mauled to death by a pack of wild wolves," James said, incredibly helpfully.

"No pressure then."

* * *

**Ah, my poor little teenagers – about to be torn to shreds! Let's hope Chris is as smart as he thinks he is, shall we? :P**


	4. The Greatest Hits of Ancient Egypt

**Charmed -:- Labyrinth**

**Author's Note(s):**

Super thanks to **CharmedOpal**, **Adorereading** and **lizardmomma** for reviewing this fic! I'm so glad that you're enjoying it! And to **Guest** - I'll take your comments under advisement; send me a PM if you want to discuss the issue further, thank you.

I've excelled myself by updating _early_ of all things, and this chapter even gets to be bit longer as well! Omg! I hope you Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter Four  
****-:-  
****The Greatest Hits of Ancient Egypt**

"Any time now would be great!"

Chris glared at his older brother's back before returning his attention to the door in the ground. How was he supposed to know how to get the great massive slab of stone to move? There was no combination to figure out, no secret panel hiding an elusive handle… it was _just_ a rock. The top of it was completely smooth, and the markings around the edges were purely decorative so far as Chris could tell.

Even Kirk's attempt of yelling 'open sesame' hadn't worked.

A huge grey storm cloud had formed in the sky, blocking out the moonlight; but in order to ward off the pack of bloodthirsty wolves, the teens had relit the old fires that circled the clearing. Now everything was bathed in a flickering orange glow, the flames casting long shadows in the night. The air felt heavy with the weight of a coming storm, the occasional rumble of thunder warning them of the sudden turn in the weather.

The wolves had gathered quickly once the witches had entered the clearing and discovered the potential exit, as if they could sense that their prey would soon escape. To keep them at bay Wyatt, James, Caleb and Ashleigh had positioned themselves at the four compass points armed with flaming sticks and Ashleigh's can of hairspray. The defence was working, for now, but with every minute that passed the wolves were getting bolder.

"How the hell are we meant to open this thing?!" Kirk yelled in frustration, kicking the side of the stone and then cursing when this proved to be a bad idea. "Are you sure this is even a door?"

Chris chewed his lip, ignoring Kirk's question as he forced himself to stop and think for a moment. With the pressure piling up on his shoulders he was just getting stressed out which wasn't exactly helping any. He needed to step back, and think outside the box.

They had excavated some of the items buried in the sand around the stone, and somehow Chris knew that they were there for a reason. Someone very vindictive had designed this puzzle; giving them the tools they needed to solve it, but also throwing in some more random stuff just to confuse them. There were ropes and poles and hooks as if they should construct some sort of pulley system, as well as a confederate flag, some fossilised remains and a coffee maker, of all things.

Someone was messing with them. As Chris stood there trying to figure it out he could feel some presence watching them. He could practically hear the condescending laughter as they ran around like ants waiting to be burned with a magnifying glass.

Irritated, Chris grabbed up the nearest metal pole and stepped up and onto the stone. He slammed the pole down and wedged it into the divide in the rock like a crowbar, putting all of his weight into it.

The stone moved.

Chris blinked in surprise, letting up for a moment and looking down to study the rock. The movement had been minute, less than a millimetre, but hit had definitely moved. _Could it really be…?_ He called to Hayden and Kirk "Give me a hand here!"

Immediately his two assistants obliged, all of them grabbing hold of the pole and pulling with all their might. Wyatt and the others continued struggling to hold back the wolves, the crackling of their improvised torches and their shouts of alarm competing with the grunts and growls of the animals as they tried to tear them apart.

With a horrible sound like nails on a chalkboard, the door began to give way ever-so-slightly. Abruptly the stones dropped a little, throwing the three teens off balance. Kirk grabbed Hayden's arm as she nearly fell and she gave him a grateful smile. He then looked down at the stone that was now a shallow 'V' shape, the pole bent from the weight of it. "Guess that confirms it's the door."

"Yeah," Chris agreed, his eyes scanning the ground again. "But we can't open it like this."

"Huh?" Kirk asked. "Why not?"

"The stones are holding each other up," Hayden answered. She then held up her hands as a visual aid, palms down and fingertips touching like a bridge. "By pushing them apart we've given them room to lower slightly, but now they're far too heavy to push any further. Even if we could, if we're standing on top like this when they're pulled apart, we'll fall down with them."

"Less talking more working!" Wyatt yelled over as he smacked the nose of a particularly daring wolf with his torch. The beast whimpered as it pulled back, but another of its brethren quickly replaced it. "We can't keep this up much longer!"

"We need a rope," Chris instructed, hopping off of the door and crouching down to study the edge of the stones again, running his hand along the patterns on a hunch. This puzzle was designed to be solved, and if Chris was right about the solution, there had to be some way to tie a rope around the door. Hayden and Kirk set to finding the rope, as Chris finally found what he was looking for. Worked into the pattern were two thick bridges, grooves carved behind them to create handles that were practically invisible in the low light. "Here!"

A bright flash of lightening split the sky, announcing the start of a torrential downpour of rain. Thick heavy droplets fell like a curtain, instantly drenching them and extinguishing their fires. Thunder clapped dramatically and all hell broke loose.

"AGH!" James yelled suddenly. One of the wolves had taken advantage of the dying embers and leapt into the clearing, catching the witch by the shoulders and smashing him into the sand. James's torch he had been using to fend off the beast flew from his grasp and landed out of reach. He struggled and kicked to try and free himself from beneath the creature as he just about dodged the jaws trying to snap at his throat.

Chris stood quickly and made to climb over the stone to help; but then Ashleigh yelped behind him. Her hairspray had run out, the fires had died and the wolves were hungry. Making a split second decision, Chris snatched another pole, this one shorter with a jagged end, and ran to help her.

Wyatt was a little busy dealing with his own creature incursion, unable to run to anyone's aid, and Kirk and Hayden were working on opening the door, leaving James to fend for himself.

Or so he thought.

As he desperately tried to free himself, panting, shouting, screaming and avoiding those salivating jaws, a small voice in his head told him that he deserved this. He had always believed that there were two types of people in the world: the bullies and the bullied, and he had done everything he could to avoid being the latter. He had basically been a jerk his whole life – horrible, mean, short-sighted and prejudiced – believing that the only way to avoid being hurt was to hurt others first.

The last thing he had expected right then was to be saved by the half-demon he had tormented the most.

Caleb swung his snuffed out torch like a baseball bat, smacking the beast trying to rip out James's throat in the head with enough force to render it unconscious. The wolf flew backwards, skidding a little as it hit the ground and kicking up a cloud of sand. Caleb then looked down at James and offered him a hand "Are you alright?"

"Uh…" James didn't know what to say – 'thank you' wasn't exactly in his vocabulary. He took Caleb's hand, allowing the half-demon to haul him to his feet, a little embarrassed to find that his legs were shaking from his near death experience.

"Back up!" Wyatt shouted, still locked in battle with a wolf that just would not take the hint, no matter how many times the witch smacked it in the face. "Help them open the door!"

Caleb and James did as they were told, running over to Hayden and Kirk who were struggling with the rope, stuck in an impossible game of tug of war. They gripped the rope as well, adding their strength to the pot, and were rewarded with the gradual compliance of the stubborn stone.

Chris and Ashleigh backed up to the door as well, followed by the eager wolves. Ashleigh threw her empty can at the nearest beast, the metal making a great 'clang' as it bounced off of the creature's hard skull. The wolf gave its head a brief shake, and then growled menacingly. "I think I just made it mad."

"Down!" Chris shouted, grabbing Ashleigh's shoulders and pulling her to the sand as the wolf pushed back on its hind legs and propelled itself into the air. As they ducked it soared over their heads, claws raking mere inches above them, passing harmlessly by. It landed gracefully on the stone, but before it could attack again, the stone finally gave way. "Let go!"

As James and Caleb had pulled one of the stones away, the other half of the door had begun to lower, the support that held it up being gradually taken away. The weight of the wolf had been the straw that broke the camel's back, the two stones falling into the hole that they had been covering. The four teens released their hold on the rope at Chris's shout, preventing them from being dragged in too.

Immediately, the heavy rain stopped as if someone had just turned off a faucet. The storm cloud cleared, allowing the moonlight to reach them. But that wasn't the strangest thing.

Every single wolf ceased growling like a rabid beast and rocked back on their haunches like well trained dogs, eyeing up the teenagers as if they were waiting for their next orders. Their tails even wagged slightly like they were quite pleased with themselves.

"O-kay…" Ashleigh broke the sudden silence. "I think we should go before they change their minds and try to eat us again."

"Good idea," Wyatt agreed. They all then turned to the gaping hole in the ground while keeping a wary eye on the strange wolves. They just kept waiting patiently as the teens found the ladder that was carved into the side and climbed down one by one. Once they were all at the bottom of the pit, Wyatt looked them all over. "Is everyone alright?"

He received nods all round. Beyond a few cuts and bruises the seven of them were holding together pretty well. James had some claw marks in his shoulders that weren't too severe, and Hayden and Kirk had rope burns on their hands, but no one was complaining. Considering what they had already been through, things could have been a lot worse.

And who knew what was to come?

* * *

From the pit the teens then found themselves in a long winding corridor not unlike the one that had led them into the woods. Torches lit the way as the eyes of the characters carved into the walls followed their progress. They walked mostly in silence, far too tired and subdued to walk and argue at the same time.

Wyatt and Chris took the lead, though there really was only one way to go. Ashleigh, Caleb, Hayden and Kirk were in the middle with James tagging along at the back, an odd expression on his face that no one seemed to notice.

"I spy, with my little eye…" Wyatt randomly began.

"Oh hell no," Chris shut him down with a glare. "I am so not playing that game with you."

Wyatt quirked an eyebrow in challenge. "Afraid you'll lose like when we were kids?"

"You cheated!" Chris retorted indignantly, sounding a little like the kindergartner that would go crying to their mother, telling her all about how mean Wy was being. Wyatt burst out laughing, the upbeat sound infectious and making the others smile too.

"How can you cheat at I spy?" Hayden asked, totally perplexed, while Caleb and Ashleigh who had practically grown up with the Halliwells grinned knowingly.

Chris scowled at Wyatt who was still chuckling away. "He would come up with something that wasn't in the room, make me spend forever guessing, and then when he told me the answer he would orb the object there so I couldn't argue with him." It was then that Chris realised how whiney he sounded, which probably wasn't helping the 'baby' label he'd been tagged with when he had walked into senior year with Wyatt. "I was like _five_ at the time."

"And he's never gotten over it," Wyatt finished with mock drama. "Traumatised forever by that cruel, cruel game."

Chris rolled his eyes. "Shut up, Wy."

They were all so caught up in the teasing of their youngest member that none of them really paid any mind to the fact that it was suddenly getting a lot warmer in the tunnel. The soft sand that dusted the sandstone floor got thicker and thicker, eventually taking over entirely. The tunnel began to lead upwards, a bright light shining through an opening up ahead.

"Technically I can't '_cheat_' now," Wyatt pointed out, complete with air quotation marks. "Therefore you have no excuse for not playing. So; I spy with my little eye… something beginning with…"

They stepped through the opening and out into the next part of the game.

"…W. T. F."

"What the f…" Chris muttered, unintentionally answering as he caught his first look at the playing field. "Has this place never even heard of _physics?_"

They were in a desert. An unforgiving sun beat down on them from high in the cloudless blue sky, creating a haze over the odd red sand. There was nothing but dunes for miles in every direction, and as expected, the tunnel mouth closed the moment they had left. Within moments they could already feel the effects of the oppressive heat, but there was no escape from the sun's rays to be had.

"We are all going to die," Kirk declared optimistically.

"There's a way out," Chris said confidently, even as a headache began to form behind his eyes from the heat. "There's always an exit, we just have to find it."

"And how do you suggest we do that?" Kirk questioned, clearly not buying it.

'_Hey you beautiful! Hey you beautiful!'_

"What is that?" Caleb asked, all of them looking around at the sudden noise. The song continued to play, the beat resounding around the desolate wasteland making it difficult to place. Something flashed over the peak of one of the lower dunes. "Over there!"

'_Okay, now I see, you just love the chase… Lucky for, you my dear, that's my favourite game!"_

"We won't make it," Ashleigh murmured, having vaguely measured the distance. She had already taken off her long coat and over shirt, leaving her in a vest top and a short skirt. She draped the cotton shirt over her shoulders to stop them from burning, but abandoned her coat on the sand. "My mum and I went to Egypt last year – they told us all about the desert and the precautions we should take. We're not even the slightest bit prepared. I don't even have any water for Christ's sake."

"I've got water," Hayden replied, digging into her bag and pulling out a bottle. It was already warm to the touch but they passed it round regardless, each of them grateful for the brief relief.

"We've got no alternative," Wyatt shrugged. He lost his jacket as well, the others following suit as they tried to make themselves a little less likely to die. "The longer we stand here the less chance we have. We've got to go for it."

'_Are you happy now? Are you satisfied? With the way that you let our love die?'_

The music changed pace, the fast beat being replaced with violins and a slow bass. As they began their trek across the desert their conversation ceased. It was enough of an effort to put one foot in front of the other, let alone waste their hard to get breath on pointless words. They started off as quickly as they could, but the pace soon slackened until he felt as if every step was being made in slow motion.

About halfway they were beginning to stagger, their footing failing on the unstable sand that shifted beneath them. Chris dropped to his knees, feeling the ground burning his skin through his jeans until Wyatt grabbed his arm and hauled him back up. He didn't have the strength to thank him, but Wyatt understood regardless, and they kept walking.

The water bottle was passed around again, completely emptied the second round.

'_Why does it feel so good but hurt so bad? My mind keeps saying 'run as fast as you can'! Troublemaker!'_

Their destination appeared like a mirage, and for a moment, Wyatt was sure that was exactly what it was. He could hear the sound of running water. He could see the promise of shade created by tall palms. Could it be possible that in the middle of the barren desert there could be such an oasis?

They staggered into a stone courtyard, the suddenly hard bricks feeling strange after nothing but soft sand. The wide leaves of several trees cast cool shadows that felt so wonderful that Kirk let out a delirious giggle. But it was nothing compared to the gloriousness of the clear water that poured like golden rain from a water feature to the left of the heavenly space.

Once they had drank their fill they all ended up on the floor, propped up against various statues and tree trunks as they gradually recovered. It was still hot, painfully, painfully hot, but they didn't quite feel like they were going to melt back into primordial ooze where they stood anymore.

'_I say 'I'm done' but then you pull me back… I swear you're giving me a heart attack! Troublemaker!'_

"I think… I reco..cognise… this…" Ashleigh said slowly between deep breaths. "It sounds… like something… my mum… plays in… the car…"

"Oh yeah?" Wyatt asked. He sounded a little less winded, though all of them looked completely exhausted. He looked over at the blonde who was lounging beneath a palm tree with her eyes closed, her make up smudged with sweat. "Can you remember a name? It could be a clue or something."

"Google it," Kirk suggested sarcastically.

James then reached into his backpack and pulled out his shiny iPad7, the screen coming to life with a welcoming bleep. He then frowned. "Can't get a signal."

"I doubt 4G covers alternate dimensions," Kirk replied with a quirked brow. James opened his mouth to retort, but then seemed to make a conscious effort to swallow it, something he had never done before. Kirk blinked in surprise, but didn't comment.

'_Now fear's on the run… we've already won… Now march with the band, raise your right hand… We've only just begun!'_

"Olly… something…" Ashleigh muttered to herself, her face screwing up as she tried to remember. She remembered that it had been playing when she and her mother had had a particularly bad argument on the way to her grandmother's funeral. An odd choice of tunes, she recalled, but neither of them had really been listening regardless. They were too busy snapping at each other about something trivial as usual.

With some effort, Chris dragged himself up and onto his feet, making Wyatt look up at him. "Where do you think you're going?"

"I'm gonna see if I can find the door," Chris answered. The courtyard wasn't that bigger place, but the teens hadn't actually made it far past the threshold before collapsing in a heap. "If we stay here too long we're still going to cook – just a little slower than out there."

"I'll…" Wyatt tried to stand up, but failed epically and ended up back on the floor. "…stay here."

Chris grinned. "Good plan."

_It's the moment of truth… I'm counting on you… This Army of Two… I've only just begun…'_

It didn't take very long for Chris to find what he was looking for. In the centre of the courtyard there was a huge sculpture of a sphinx; a scaled down version of the one in Giza, sheltered on either side by several tall ferns. Sandstone walls lined the edges of the square oasis, interspersed with arches and palm trees. Hieroglyphs were carved into every vertical surface, broken only by larger pictures depicting pharaohs and gods performing their duties.

Past the sphinx, at the back of the complex, was a lowered platform that was sunk into the ground. It was a perfect square in shape, framing a floor mural of the river Nile and its east bank like an ancient map. On the wall behind was an almost exact replica, though as Chris studied it he noticed a few minute differences, like that game on the back of cereal boxes. In the wall mural there was a deeply carved rectangle that looked suspiciously like a door; the lines mirrored with a shallower etching on the floor.

'_We got our eyes wide open… Feeling like we're almost there…"_

The song changed one last time, and Chris realised that the music was actually coming out of the mouths of the statues, like an Ancient Egyptian sound system.

He headed back to the others. "Found it."

"Really?" Wyatt asked. "That was quick."

"This place isn't very big," Chris replied with a shrug. He then turned to Ashleigh who was just about managing to climb to her feet. "Do you remember about the music yet? I think Wyatt was right about it being a clue."

Wyatt grinned. "I'm just clever like that."

"It's Olly Murs, I think," Ashleigh said uncertainly. "It's like ten years old, some English guy who won _Pop Idol_ or something… Does that help?"

Chris shrugged again. "Maybe. Come on, the door's this way."

Begrudgingly, the rest of the group clambered to their feet and followed him around the sphinx and into the puzzle area. They all took a look at the two murals, seeing the doorway cut into it as Chris had. "Okay," Kirk asked. "How do we open it?"

"Spot the difference," Hayden said immediately, and then looked to Chris for confirmation.

He nodded. "Exactly. The picture on the floor is missing pieces that are on the wall." He knelt down and picked up one of the shards of stone that were scattered around the floor mural like jigsaw pieces. "These pieces."

"That seems easy enough," Wyatt replied, picking up a shard as well. "Let's do this before we fry to death, shall we?"

'_So this is what it feels like… Being at the right place the right time… I'm hanging on for dear life… Hoping we can make this a long night…'_

As they set to work, the pieces quickly finding their way into the correct holes, Chris noticed that the last song kept replaying instead of moving on like it had done before. He began listening more closely to the lyrics, trying to figure out if it was trying to tell them something – or if it was just another one of those random things thrown in just to put them off.

'_Right here, and now, feels like forever… Never touch, the ground, when we're together… Right here, and now, feels like forever… forever… forever…'_

"Err… guys… we have a problem," Caleb announced once all but one shard was put in its proper place. He held up a handful of broken pieces – the fragments of the last part of the puzzle. "Does anyone have any crazy glue?"

"Damnnit," Wyatt muttered irritably. The heat was still getting to him, making him cranky and short tempered. Why could nothing ever be easy?

"Hang on…" Chris murmured. The last piece they needed was the reflection of what was probably the door handle. It was the only raised piece of the map, rising maybe two inches above the surface. Its corresponding slot on the floor was a thin line, and Chris was pretty sure he knew something that would fit in it. "James, can I have your iPad?"

"Huh?" James grunted. He didn't seem to have followed Chris's train of thought.

"Your iPad," Chris repeated. "We need it."

James sighed. "Will I get it back?"

"Probably not."

Reluctantly, James handed over his shiny new gadget, Chris having to yank it from his hand when he couldn't quite bring himself to let it go. "Thanks," Chris said, before he crouched down on the floor mural and slid the tablet PC into the slot. It fitted perfectly.

The ground shook a little, and Chris stood up and re-joined the others as they watched the door sink back into the wall mural. Wyatt then stepped forward and pushed it all the way open. A blast of cool air had him sighing in relief, and he turned back to the group.

"Let's see what's next then."

* * *

**Two puzzles in one chapter – Chris is on a roll! Let's see if he can keep this up while I come up with even more fun stuff for them to deal with! *Evil Laugh***

**Oh, and I'm also aware that Olly Murs won X-Factor, not Pop Idol, that particular mistake was on purpose :P The songs I quoted are from his album _Right Place, Right Time_ - no copyright infringement intended or whatever...**


	5. BART

**Charmed -:- Labyrinth**

**Author's Note(s):**

Super thanks as always to my reviewers! **Adorereading**, nope, I haven't read the Maze Runner, though now I may have to :P My main influence behind this fic is the fourth Percy Jackson book (called _The Battle of the Labyrinth..._ hmmm...) **CharmedOpal, **glad you liked Olly's cameo lol, and thanks for the suggestion I've got ideas along those lines, and a bit of musophobia makes its way into this chap as well! And to **lizardmomma **- hope the journey stays interesting :P

Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter Five  
****-:-  
BART**

The new passageway that they found themselves in was circular in shape, like the inside of a straw that had been squished at the bottom to give them a thin, flat floor to walk on. It was significantly more modern than anything that they had seen before in the weird place; made up of dark grey bricks and lit by flickering florescent tube lights every few hundred yards. They sloshed through the shallow water that came to just above their ankles, the coolness welcome after so long in the desert heat.

"Is this feeling like a sewer to anyone else?" Ashleigh asked as she wrinkled her nose when Caleb accidently splashed the back of her legs, the water getting inside her boots and making her socks all squelchy.

"It doesn't smell like a sewer," Kirk shrugged from behind Caleb. The flat part of the tunnel was only just wide enough for them to walk in single file; Wyatt as always at the front with James and Hayden bringing up the rear.

"That's a small mercy," Ashleigh replied. She stumbled a little on the uneven ground, grabbing the back of Chris's shirt to keep herself upright. He turned slightly to check on her and she smiled apologetically at him. She still hadn't gotten round to thanking him for saving her from the wolves earlier, though after her hairspray stunt she figured that they were probably even by now.

"So…" Kirk began. "What do you reckon lives down here then? Rats? Snakes? Spiders? Giant mutant snake-rat-spider things…?"

"It better not be rats," Hayden shuddered. She lengthened her pace a little to make her closer to Kirk, though if he noticed the movement he didn't show it. "I don't like rats."

"Really?" Ashleigh asked. "I think they're cute."

Hayden shook her head vehemently even though the other girl couldn't see her. "Uh-uh. They're big and furry with sharp teeth and claws and they squeak and they have freaky tails and they smell funny. They're almost as bad as bats!"

"Oooh… bats…" Kirk chuckled. "I hadn't thought of those. Maybe they've got some of them down here too."

Hayden smacked him on the back. "Don't say that! I'm freaking out enough about the rats!"

"Don't worry, there aren't any rats down here," Chris said reassuringly. Wyatt recognised the slight sarcasm in his brother's tone and turned to give him a warning glare.

"How do you know?" Hayden asked tentatively.

Chris grinned. "Because they would have eaten us alive by now."

Hayden let out a small, frightened squeal that made Kirk pay attention. He smiled warmly at her in the low light and offered her his hand which she gladly took. Still walking behind him, she was thankful that he couldn't see the rosy colour her cheeks had surely gone. Wyatt cuffed his little brother round the head and rolled his eyes. "Don't be a wind-up, Chris. That's Jay's job."

James cocked his head at the mention of his name, but didn't comment. This made Wyatt furrow his brow as he craned his neck to get a look at his teammate at the back of the line. "Are you alright, Jay? You're strangely… quiet."

"Uh, yeah," James answered. "I'm okay."

Wyatt gave him a look that said that he clearly didn't believe him, but before he could question the issue further, the ground began to shake.

"What is it with this place and earthquakes?" Chris muttered, barely audible above the sound of the tremor. The rumbling was then followed by a mechanical rhythmic chugging and a horrible squealing sound. Up ahead the tunnel was broken by a T-junction, the circular opening suddenly lit up with the flashing of passing lights that made them all squint painfully. Once it had passed, Chris blinked away the echoes of light that stained his sight. "Was that a train?"

"I think it was…" Wyatt agreed, cautiously moving forward again, the rest of the group following behind. At the edge of the tunnel that bisected the other, he came to a stop, leaning out and looking both ways. When another train didn't immediately appear and take his head off, he stepped out and onto the track. "Careful."

The new tunnel was significantly bigger than the one they had vacated, wide enough to fit two trains side by side. The rails were about three metres apart, with a third rail in the middle of the two tracks that hummed a little. A cool breeze blew through from behind them, as if to shuffle them along in the right direction. By now the teens had learnt that there really was only one way to go, and so followed behind where the train had vanished earlier.

Once again the ground began to rumble, making the teens come to a panicked stop. Chris looked down at the tracks, noticing that it was the rails beside them that were vibrating. He pushed Ashleigh back, gesturing for the others to follow suit. "It's coming from the other way!"

The seven of them pressed against the wall as a bright headlights bathed them all in yellow. The grinding of the wheels and the screaming of the brakes was deafeningly loud this close to the passing train, forcing them to press their hands over their ears in a vain attempt to block it out. The force of the updraft created by the speed of the train buffeted them mercilessly.

"Holy crap…" Kirk muttered as he blinked grit from his eyes once the train had finally passed. He realised that his hands were shaking, even the one that was caught in Hayden's white-knuckled grip. "Let's not do that again…"

"Agreed," Ashleigh nodded. She then looked down to find that she was clinging to Chris's arm. He glanced down as well, and she immediately let go, trying to recover some of her aloof attitude. He looked a little disappointed, but Ashleigh turned away before he could say anything. "Let's find a way off the tracks."

Wyatt got them moving again, his pace a lot faster than before, all of them eager to avoid another meeting with a high speed train. Maybe five minutes later, the dull glow of the florescent lights was drowned by the overhead bulbs of an underground station. The teens practically ran the last fifty yards, clambering up the concrete ledge just as the ground began to shake again. They were all on the platform just as another train thundered by.

After taking a moment to catch their breath, the witches staggered to their feet. It had been such a long day – walking through endless tunnels, battling wolves, crossing deserts – it was a miracle they were still going. Kirk looked around the station until his hungry eyes settled on a neon vending machine. "Anyone got any change?"

"Sure," Hayden dug her purse out of her shoulder bag and handed it over. "Knock yourself out."

As she and Kirk investigated the goodies on offer, Chris and Wyatt scouted out the station. It was pretty average really. The floor was just a carpet of concrete, only interrupted by a smattering of black tiles along the platform edge that indicated where the train doors would be. Metal benches were spaced evenly along the length of the platform, looking inviting to their exhausted bodies. What caught Chris's attention though, was the massive painted letters on the wall the far side of the tunnel.

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO

"Wy…" Chris said to get his brother's attention, and then gestured at the sign. "We're practically home."

Wyatt stared at the peeling white paint for nearly a whole minute, as if he couldn't trust his own eyes. Then he suddenly spun on his heel and marched down the passenger tunnel that led up and into the main station. He skidded to stop. "Damnnit!"

Chris followed close behind, feeling his brief hope vanish with his brother's. There was no exit. Where the archway should have been there was a solid brick wall, a spray-painted smiley face grinning down at them smugly. "This isn't the real station," Chris realised dejectedly. "It's just another part of this freaking maze."

Away from the others, Wyatt allowed himself to show his true exhaustion. "We can't keep going like this. How much more can this place throw at us? What's next, huh? We need a way out, and we needed it three weird dimensions ago."

Chris sighed and sank back against the wall, his hand absently rubbing at the gash on his arm. It had stopped bleeding in the desert, but he could feel the dirt caked in the wound. He knew it would get infected if he didn't take the time to clean it, but he was hoping they would be home free and Wyatt could heal him before it went septic. Though the way things were going, that didn't seem likely.

"When is this going to end?" Wyatt continued, letting out his frustration. "We don't even know who is behind this – if there even is anyone behind it! There's no one to fight or bargain with just these stupid puzzles!"

"We'll find a way out, Wy," Chris said reassuringly. It might have seemed weird that younger brother was the support for older, but ever since the brothers had been small they had settled into a dynamic that worked. Wyatt had always been under such pressure because of his title, and Chris had always just been there whenever things got tough. They relied on each other, maybe more so than they should. "We just got to stick together, and we'll get out of this."

"I love your confidence," Wyatt replied wryly. "Where can I get some?"

"I'm just naturally awesome." Chris grinned.

"Err… guys!" came Kirk's call from the platform. The two brothers shared a look, Wyatt automatically switching back into collected leader mode. The screech of a train's brakes reached them down the pedestrian tunnel. "You should come see this!"

They stepped back out onto the platform just as a train came to a stop at the station. It was old-looking, worn from decades of abuse. Several of its windows were cracked, some non-existent, and the outside of the carriages were coated in layers of graffiti. It creaked like an elderly person who had seen better days as it shuddered to a halt; doors opening with a reluctant squeal that made the teens wince.

All the lights were off, aside from the one carriage directly in front of them that flickered like a bug zapper.

"I am _not_ getting on that thing," Ashleigh declared adamantly. The train made a despondent whining noise as if hurt by her words. She turned to Wyatt with an exasperated expression. "Tell me there's another way out."

Wyatt shook his head. "The exit's bricked up."

"I _hate_ this place." Ashleigh rolled her eyes in irritation. She then shouted up at the ceiling, looking very much like Piper Halliwell when she yelled for one of her sons to come home when they were late. "So what's the alternative, huh? We don't get on the train and then what? The station floods? A plague of locusts? What?!"

Every single bulb above the platform exploded, showering them in glass. The only lights left on came from the train car.

"I think you pissed him off!" Kirk snapped as he squinted in the sudden darkness, looking around nervously for the inevitable monster that would start chasing them any second.

"Pissed _who_ off?!" Ashleigh retorted, her patience clearly exhausted, before turning back to the ceiling. "Come on! Show yourself! Or you scared I'm gonna kick your ass?!"

A cold wind blasted them indignantly, followed briskly by the chattering of many, many tiny feet.

"I think we should get on the train now…" Caleb suggested as they backed up so that they huddled close together, surrounding Ashleigh who just crossed her arms defiantly.

"No!" she stubbornly refused. "I am not playing anymore stupid games!"

"Rats!" Hayden squeaked in fear as thousands of black fur balls flooded the platform. With the rodents nipping at her heels, she grabbed a hold of Kirk's arm and practically dragged him to the train. Once inside she climbed up onto a threadbare seat and clung onto a pole as Kirk dissuaded the rats from boarding with a fire extinguisher from beside the door.

"Go!" Wyatt instructed Caleb and James, who quickly ran to join Kirk in defending the train. That just left the brothers and Ashleigh, who was still refusing to move even as Chris kicked at the rats trying to climb up her boots. "Come on, Ash! We gotta go!"

"Then what?!" she yelled at him. "Another puzzle? More creatures? Maybe some more indie pop? What's the point?!"

The writhing carpet of rats just got thicker and louder as they seemed to pour from every hole and crevice as if a pied piper on steroids was calling them. Chris yelped as a particularly hungry rat sunk its teeth through his jeans, and he leaned down to swipe it off. "There's a way out, trust me! And if there's not, I'm sure there are better ways to go than being eaten alive by rats!"

Ashleigh gave him an unconvinced look. "You're saying we should go find a better way to die? That's a convincing argument!"

"I'm saying _get on the damn train!"_ Chris ordered.

"Or _what?!_"

"This!" Wyatt answered as he picked Ashleigh up and threw her over his shoulder. She screamed at him to put her down, hammering at his back as he ran the few yards to the open train door and jumped the gap. Chris followed close on his heels, slamming the door release as he crossed the threshold.

Caleb and James shooed the handful of rodents that had made it into the car out of the closing gap as Wyatt dropped Ashleigh unceremoniously onto the seat next to where Hayden was huddling. The train pulled out of the station with a strained squeal, its destination anyone's guess. The blonde witch glared up at Wyatt and scowled.

"You're welcome," Wyatt retorted before turning to the others. "Is everyone alright?"

"Yeah," Kirk replied. He then looked up at Hayden who still hadn't relinquished her grip on the pole. "You can come down now, you know. The rats are all gone."

"Are you sure?" Hayden asked tentatively, her big brown eyes scouring the floor for more of the rodents. Kirk just smiled up at her and offered her a hand. With a deep breath, she took it, an apologetic expression on her face. "Sorry… that was a bit pathetic of me, wasn't it?"

Kirk shook his head. "Nah, it's alright. You did warn us that you didn't like rats."

"Nice work," Caleb said to James, the pair of them leaning against the back of the seats on opposite sides of the door. James looked up, confused. "With the rats… booting them off the train…?"

"Oh," James replied awkwardly. "Err… you too."

Caleb furrowed his brow as he studied the bulkier teen. "Okay, I know we don't always get along, what with you being a jerk and me being half-demon and all that, but is something wrong? You're being very… not you."

"Uh…"

Something thudded against the side of the train, nearly rocking it off the tracks and sending the teens inside flying. As the carriage pounded back down with an awful scream of rusted wheels, a dark shape passed by the windows.

"What the hell was that!?" Kirk asked from his place on the floor where he had become a soft landing for Hayden.

"Giant rat?" Ashleigh sarcastically suggested, still grumpy over her forced retreat. Wyatt gave her a warning look as he climbed to his feet and tried to see out the window, Caleb coming over to join him. The train, that hadn't been moving particularly fast before, slowed down to a sluggish crawl.

"Do you see anything?" the half-Manticore asked as he squinted into the darkness. His tongue flickered between his teeth, tasting the air. Whatever was out there was making his instincts scream out in warning, twisting his stomach in knots. It kinda felt like that one time when he had met a relative from his mother's side – an altercation that had not ended well…

Wyatt shook his head. "I think it's gone…"

Ashleigh snorted. "We should be so lucky."

"Ash…" Wyatt cautioned, turning away from the broken glass of the window pane. "I'm sorry I didn't let you get eaten by the rats, alright? Now can you please stop it with the attitude?"

Ashleigh harrumphed, but didn't promise anything.

The strip lights in the ceiling of the carriage wavered violently, going out for a few seconds before stuttering back to life. Caleb looked up at them, narrowing his eyes as he thought he caught a flicker of movement. He stepped away from the window, coming to stand underneath as he studied the lights. A long, thin shadow crawled along the cover of the fluorescent light, quickly joined by another. And another.

"Oh… crap…" Caleb murmured. "Snakes."

"What?" James asked, looking up at where Caleb pointed. "Oh crap."

The lights flickered again, followed by several _crack _sounds as the plastic screens broke. And then it was raining snakes.

"Oh yeah," Ashleigh said sardonically. "This is _soooo_ much better."

* * *

**Teehee, I am so evil to my characters :P I wonder how they'll get out of this one? (No really, I do… halfway through this chap my muse started deviating from the plot planning I had done – who knows what's gonna happen next chap!?) **

**A/N: **I have never been to San Francisco, my knowledge of it comes completely from the establishing shots in the show and Wikipedia – as such I have never been to South San Francisco station and have no idea what it is like. My description is taken from my experience of the London Underground, which was the original setting before I decided to make it more familiar for the brothers. I apologise to any San Francisco locals who may be reading this fic and wondering what the frick I'm talking about!


	6. Snakes on a Train

**Charmed -:- Labyrinth**

**Author's Note(s):**

Thanks to **CharmedOpal**, **Guest** and **Xander** for leaving a comment last chap! I apologise for the update delay compared to the previous chapters - I just got really busy and then when I could find the time to write, this chapter refused point blank to be written! And then today when I sat down, worried this fic was dead, it all just flowed really easy - its funny how it goes like that :P

After the U-turn my muse took last chapter I have had to rework quite a big chunk of the plot, which has actually turned out to be a good thing. Now I've got the opportunity to give my characters a chance to shine, particularly Caleb and Hayden, the quiet ones (not so quiet anymore you'll find...). The brothers get the entire rest of the fic, starting next chap, to be their usual awesome selves so don't worry about that!

But I'm really gonna stop rambling now. Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter Six  
****-:-  
****Snakes on a Train**

The train picked up speed as it hit a downhill section of track, the carriage rattling and shaking as it dispensed snakes from the ceiling. They were only small, but they were numerous, hissing and spitting as they landed on the teens. The broken lights flickered in and out of life like nightclub strobe lights, making the whole thing even more disorientating.

"Holy shit!" James yelled as he frantically brushed the reptiles off himself and danced out from under the main torrent of snakes that poured from the light fittings. A particularly sly one disappeared under his shirt, its scales tickling his skin as he tried to get rid of it.

The others weren't fairing much better as they pressed back against the walls and gripped the poles to keep them steady as the rickety train sped along. Eventually the snake waterfall finally slowed and ceased, though now the floor of the carriage was a writhing mass of brightly coloured serpents. Hayden jumped back up onto her seat, kicking the snakes that were trying to claim it as their own onto the floor with the others. She shivered as she double checked that none of them had hitchhiked in her clothes or hair.

"Are they poisonous?!" Kirk asked as he backed up and climbed onto a bench as well. One of the snakes curled up in an s-shape, hissing as it rose and bared its fangs. The witch barely dodged its strike as he swung his legs up and into a crouch on the threadbare fabric seat.

"I really hope not," Chris replied through clenched teeth from his own perch, a hand clamped around his shin where blood was oozing through his jeans. The train suddenly took a tight turn a little too fast, the carriage veering dangerously, trying it's best to upend the teens into the snake pit. At Wyatt's worried look, Chris tried to make his pained grimace look a little more reassuring. "I'm alright, I think."

Caleb nodded. "Most of them aren't. They're mainly corn and grass snakes. Harmless, really."

"I find the fact that you said 'most of them' very disconcerting," Kirk retorted, edging further and further away from the edge of his seat. The train shook violently, throwing him back into the cracked window pane. "Ow."

"Can you get to the door?" Chris asked Ashleigh who was the closest to the next carriage.

A loud hiss and the angry sound of a rattle answered for her. "Erm… There's kind of a really pissed off rattler between me and the door. So I'm gonna say no."

"Great," Kirk deadpanned. "Now what?"

The train rocked fiercely, the large black shape once again smashing into the side of the speeding train. The impact threw Caleb from his place of relative safety right into the middle of the snakes. Instantly they all converged on him, hissing joyously.

"Caleb!" Ashleigh yelled, leaning forward to help but knowing she was too far away. The rattle snake launched itself at her but it got nothing but a mouthful of stuffing as it fell short and sank its fangs into the seat. She climbed onto her feet, grabbing a hold of an overhead pole for support, and booted the rattler back into the mass. "Caleb!"

Caleb climbed onto his hands and knees as he tried to avoid as many of the snakes as he could. He yelped as he felt several sets of fangs sink into his skin. And then he was being hauled up by his jacket and dragged back onto high ground. He shook from the adrenaline and fear as he turned to give his rescuer a grateful look. James just shrugged. "That makes us even."

_Thud._

The train veered again, the overhead lights finally giving up and plunging them into darkness. The squealing of the train as it thundered along the tracks at full speed was drowned out by the pained creaking of metal under pressure. The faint glow of the emergency lights cast everything in an eerie green, making the snake carpet even creepier looking.

The creaking got louder and louder as if something was getting closer until finally it was right on top of them. As if the train was as malleable as an aluminium can, the roof buckled from the weight of the dark shape that had chased their runaway train through the tunnels. The floor to ceiling poles bent like toothpicks, making Hayden scream as she staggered back, nearly losing her balance and falling into the snake pit.

The snakes hissed eagerly as their prey got closer.

And then came a slightly different hissing sound. Kirk looked up curiously, squinting in the low light as he tried to make out the source of the fizzing noise. A dark line etched along the disfigured ceiling from the left of the car to the right, the metal bubbling as if it were melting. A single drip fell onto the metal bar between the seats on which he and Hayden were taking shelter, the metal sizzling on contact.

"Hayden!" Kirk yelled as the drops got more frequent, raining down dangerously close to them. With an ungraceful shove, he pushed her off of her seat just as the acid began pouring down where she was sitting. He wasn't quick enough to save himself though, the caustic liquid splashing on the back of his hand and forearm. "AAGHHHH!"

"Kirk?!" Hayden yelped as she hit the next seat over and swivelled round at his pain-filled yell. She caught sight of smoking red skin as the smell of burned flesh filled her nostrils. "Oh god! KIRK!"

James leapt from his side of the train to Kirk's, grabbing the smaller teen under the arms and pulling him back and away from cascading acid. Kirk continued to groan, his face scrunched up as he could focus on nothing other than the pain. Hayden leaned forward, every instinct telling her to go to his side, but there was no way past. Ashleigh clambered over a few seats and hooked her arms around her, hugging her and keeping her from doing anything stupid.

"Is he alright?" Wyatt shouted to be heard over the racket of the disintegrating train.

Before anyone could answer however, the acid sliced through the carriage like a hot knife through butter, the two halves pulling apart and dispelling some of the snakes onto the exposed tracks and under the wheels. Above them the dark shadow slithered over the gap and disappeared from sight.

James, the only one left that was completely mobile in that half of the carriage, propped Kirk on the bench closest to the door, and then scrambled over the seats like a game of leap frog, heading towards Caleb who was perilously close to the edge. He had just reached the half-demon, hanging over the back of his seat and grabbing his jacket, when their half of the train came to abrupt halt.

Brakes screamed like snails on a barbecue, the force of the sudden stop nearly throwing the two teens onto the tracks. The metal bar dug into James ribs as he braced himself and held onto Caleb, but it was better than the alternative. The snakes were not so lucky. The majority of them were thrown overboard in a chorus of indignant hissing, the remaining few slithering to safety.

James and Caleb watched as the other half of the train, carrying their friends, continued at high speed until it vanished from sight.

Then their half jolted sluggishly, reluctant wheels turning and carrying them even further away in the wrong direction.

Back on the runaway train, Hayden slouched back against Ashleigh and sobbed. Hopelessness built in her chest as she realised she may never see her best friend again, the tears falling without her even realising. She and Kirk had always been together, her father always used to joke that they were joined at the hip – inseparable. And now he was gone, injured having saved her life. She wholly agreed with the blonde witch that was trying to soothe her. "I hate this place."

In the silence that followed as the four of them watched the others disappear, it was easy to think that things couldn't possibly get worse. But if there was one thing that this maze strove to teach them, it was that things can _always_ get worse.

The dark shadow that had been catching a ride on the roof of the subway car chose that moment to get off, the weight of it knocking the damaged car completely off the rails. Metal sparked as the wheels grinded along the wrong side of the tracks, the friction and speed of the train separating the wheels from their axels. The floor suddenly sloped, turning the carriage into a slide that evicted all the snakes in one fell swoop. The burned edges of the severed car scraped along the ground with a horrific squealing noise.

"AAAAAAAGGHHH!" Hayden and Ashleigh screamed in sync as they struggled to hold on while the train did its best to spill them onto the tracks.

"Get the door!" Wyatt yelled at Chris as he climbed over to where the girls were clinging on. Chris did as he was told, ignoring the bite that was still bleeding as he used the seat backs to pull him higher into the car. Once there he yanked on the emergency handle, the door begrudgingly opening with a sigh.

Wyatt reached the girls, grabbing each of them by the arm and bracing himself with his legs as he dragged them away from the edge. Between them all they just about managed the hike up to the back of the car where Chris holding the door open.

"Go! Go!" Wyatt instructed as he shoved Ashleigh and Hayden through the door and into the small compartment between the carriages. They wrenched open the next door and stumbled into the subsequent darkened car. Before Chris and Wyatt could follow however, both doors closed with a snap, trapping the brothers in the dilapidated car. "Damnnit!"

Chris tried the emergency handle again, but this time the door refused point blank to budge. Wyatt joined in, but they both realised that it wasn't going to work. They could do nothing but watch as their carriage was decoupled from the train, the girls banging frantically on their window as they tried to reach them.

Now free of its coupling, their carriage no longer sloped. Now it shook uncontrollably, rocking dangerously on its remaining wheels that jumped the tracks. The rest of the train departed down the rails that veered to the left as the remains of their battered car careened aimlessly down the right hand tunnel.

The carriage hit something that freed it completely from the tracks and sent it skittering sideways, the half-length car small enough to roll widthways down the tunnel like a barrel over Niagara. Inside the boys held on for dear life as they were thrown into a free fall, the floor and ceiling switching places so often that there was no point trying to figure out which way was up.

"Wo-agh!" Chris yelled as his grip was torn from the pole and he found himself airborne. He flailed as he tried to save himself, but he didn't stand a chance.

"Gah!" Wyatt grunted as he grabbed a hold of Chris's arm, his other arm hooked around the metal bar along the top of a seat. He felt his shoulder pop from his socket, the pain made worse by his brother stretching his arm, but he refused to let go. Anchored, Chris was able to better brace himself with his legs on seat backs, but the two of them kept their grip on each other like lifelines.

After what seemed like an eternity, the carriage seemed to be beginning to slow. But it didn't get a chance to stop of its own accord. The tunnel curved tighter than the carriage could, the walls providing the ultimate brakes.

Chris heard the smashing of glass and the creaking of twisting metal. And then everything went dark.

* * *

"Are you alright?"

Caleb opened one eye to look up at James who was sitting opposite him. He had been bitten by about six snakes, at least two of which he knew to have been poisonous, Kirk had serious burns all up one arm, and they were completely separated from the others, trapped on a train that they had no idea of where it was going. He wanted to ask what part of that was 'alright', but instead he just sighed. "Yeah. I'm okay."

"What about the snake bites?" James asked, sounding to the half-demon that he might actually be the slightest bit concerned about him. It was amazing what a series of near death experiences could do to a person. "Were any of them poisonous?"

Caleb nodded, and then shrugged at James shocked expression. "Don't worry, my demon half is good for something." He pushed up the sleeve of his jacket to show James one of the bites. A thin layer of scales covered the wound, the snake venom oozing out of the two swollen holes. "Manticores are immune to most natural poisons. We just reject it."

"Huh," James grunted. "Didn't know that."

"Yeah, well," Caleb shrugged. "I don't exactly like to flaunt my demon side. Especially not to you."

James averted his gaze at that, suddenly finding the snake-free floor of the half-length carriage fascinating.

"How comes that works?" Kirk asked, his voice quiet and strained as if he were trying very hard not to scream. He cradled his burnt arm to his chest as he curled up in the corner where James had left him, not able to bring himself to move. "That's a power… right? Our powers don't work here."

"Maybe because it's a passive power?" Caleb guessed. Truthfully, he had no idea, but he was just glad it did. "Or maybe because it's a genetic trait rather than an actual ability? Who knows? When we find the Big Bad maybe I'll ask him."

Kirk smirked at that, but the gesture quickly turned into a wince as he groaned through clenched teeth. He looked ghostly pale in the green glow of the emergency lights, and every now and again he would shiver violently. "Freaking hell this _hurts._"

Caleb climbed to his feet, ignoring the vertigo brought on from the sudden movement. While he was immune to the venom, his body still required rest as it recuperated. But he also knew he wasn't the worst injured there, so he staggered over to Kirk and dropped into the seat next to him. "Let me have a look."

Kirk looked up at him apprehensively, the way he hugged his arm making him look like a petulant toddler that didn't want to share his teddy bear.

"You ever heard of the Field Medicine class at school?" Caleb asked. Both Kirk and James shook their heads. "That's because most witches get Whitelighters so they don't need to know basic medicine. But half-demons? We don't get them. So Wy's dad came up with a new class just for me and a couple others that aren't on the Elder's list. Basically, I know what I'm doing. Now show me your arm."

"You have a wonderful bedside manner," Kirk deadpanned. He then very reluctantly withdrew his arm from his chest and held it out for inspection. He was very thankful that Caleb didn't feel the need to actually touch the wound; it hurt enough as it was without being poked and prodded.

After a few moments, Caleb frowned. "It needs cleaning. Like ten minutes ago. Anyone got any water?"

James shook his head. "We drank it all in the desert."

"Great," Caleb sighed. "Let's hope this train is going somewhere with a tap."

As if in response to his request, the train began to slow down, the brakes screeching loudly in the open air car. They rolled casually into the station, the strip lights blindingly bright after so long in near darkness. James helped Kirk to his feet, hunching slightly so that the smaller teen could get his arm across his shoulders. Caleb manhandled the doors open, not wanting to try and jump from the wrecked back end onto the platform.

The new station looked almost exactly like the one before, except it had a slightly shorter platform and the words SAN BRUNO were painted on the tunnel wall.

They stumbled onto the concrete, the ground feeling reassuringly solid after the rollercoaster ride on the train. James half-dragged Kirk over to one of the benches and set him down before turning to Caleb. "There's bottled water in that vending machine. Will that work?"

"Yeah," Caleb nodded as he fed his lunch money into the machine. He bought several bottles that dispensed with a series of loud thuds that echoed in the cavernous space. He then joined the others and knelt down in front of the bench. "I'm not gonna lie. This is gonna hurt."

Kirk nodded, trying to look stoic as he practically hyperventilated in anticipation of what was to come. James braced his injured arm and gripped his shoulder to stop him from thrashing. As Caleb unscrewed a couple of the bottle caps, Kirk muttered through his gritted teeth. "This is so surreal."

"Well, duh. We're in a weird dimension where woods sprout from nowhere, Ancient Egyptians sing indie pop and trains are populated by snakes," Caleb pointed out as he looked through his bag for the first aid kit he'd taken to carrying around with him. "What's not surreal about that?"

Kirk shook his head. "That's not what I meant. I mean this. You, James, _helping_ me. It's weird."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Caleb asked. "You expected us to just leave you?"

"No," Kirk shuddered as he eyed up the bottle of water Caleb was holding at the ready. "It's just that… well, you're the Twice Blessed's best friend, and you're the pure embodiment of a high school jock. We're not even meant to talk beyond sarcasm and general insults. It's… AAAAAAGGGGHHHH!"

As the water touched the scorched skin his whole arm stung like a swarm of angry wasps had decided to take out their vengeance on him. After the initial shock, Kirk tried valiantly to bite off his scream, dissolving into low mumbled groan deep in his throat.

"You were saying?" Caleb asked innocently once he was done.

"Son. Of. A. Bitch," Kirk growled out. He drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Thanks for the warning."

Caleb grinned. "You're welcome."

As they let Kirk recover, the three of them lapsed into silence for a while. They all sat in a row on the bench like a group of old ladies waiting for a bus. The train they arrived on stood idle at the platform still, though now it was completely silent as if it had just given up the ghost and died. They clearly weren't leaving that way.

James eventually broke the silence. "So, what comes next, do you reckon?"

* * *

"I'm sorry."

"What for?" Hayden asked after a moment, refusing to look up from her knees that were drawn to her chest. She sat curled on the chair to the left of the door that used to lead to the damaged carriage. Opposite her, Ashleigh sat with her head leant back against the window as she stared up at the dead ceiling lights, her blonde hair green in the low light.

Ashleigh sighed despondently. "For back at the train station, when I lost it. Maybe if I hadn't of yelled, if I had just done as we were told, maybe it wouldn't have happened this way."

Hayden just stared at her kneecaps, blinking the last of the tears from her eyelashes.

"I just broke, I'm so sorry," Ashleigh repeated. "It's just the way I am. Stubborn, reckless, serious problems with authority figures. Being made to jump through all those hoops without knowing why, or even who for? It just got to me. I know it was immature, and stupid, but I couldn't help it. I'm really sorry, Hayden."

"Why are you apologising to me?" Hayden wondered as she finally looked up. "Because I'm the last one left? Because I cried? Because you think I'm just going to forgive you?"

Ashleigh blinked at the outburst, and then shook her head. "Because of Kirk, Hayden."

Hayden glared over her crossed arms at the older girl who was giving her that knowing look. "You don't know anything about _Kirk_. You don't know anything about me either. We don't talk. We don't hang out. Hell, you probably didn't even know my name before today, so don't you dare speak to me like we're best friends, alright?"

"I'm sorry."

"Stop saying that!" Hayden snapped. She then looked away and took a deep breath, reigning her temper back in. Emotions were running high in the carriage, and if it really was just the two of them now it wouldn't do for them to fall out in the first five minutes.

"Kirk's going to be okay, you know," Ashleigh tried again after a minute or so of tense silence. Hayden gave her a warning look. "I know that I don't know him, okay? But I do know Caleb and James. They'll look after him until we meet back up again."

Hayden snorted. "All James has ever done is make Kirk's life miserable. But hey, at least he's actually spoken to us these last seven years we've been in the same school."

"Don't you think it's strange that this place chose us?" Ashleigh asked, the thought suddenly occurring to her.

Hayden rolled her eyes. "Nice avoidance tactic."

"No, I mean it," Ashleigh persisted. "You and Kirk were in a completely different part of the museum from us. We got drawn to one door, you to another, and we all end up in this place? That's more than just a coincidence, surely?"

"Maybe it was just filling up the numbers," Hayden shrugged. "That's usually why we eventually get picked for teams."

Ashleigh furrowed her brow. "Numbers… there's seven of us…."

"You're a genius."

"There were seven digits in the combination in the first room. And seven fires around the clearing in the woods. And seven statues in the courtyard in the desert. What was the number on the train?"

Hayden shrugged. "Can't say I looked. I saw rats, you dawdled. It all went to hell."

"We're slowing down," Ashleigh stated as she climbed to her feet and tried to get a look out the window. Beneath their feet the rhythm of the train slowed to a gentle chugging accentuated by the pained squeal of unoiled brakes. They came to a complete a gradual stop, still none the wiser as to where they had ended up.

"Fantastic," Hayden huffed. "Let's see what else this place has got to throw at us."

Ashleigh threw a look over her shoulder. "You're really sarcastic, you know that? And that's a compliment by the way. I used to think that I was the master, but now I bow down before you."

Hayden just rolled her eyes again and marched over to the doors, manually pulling them open with Ashleigh's help. They then had to jump down to the ground as there was no platform. In fact, there wasn't a station either. The train tracks simply stopped, depositing them in the middle of a massive cavern. The whole place glowed in a soft purple light that seemed to emanate from the stones themselves.

The two girls stopped side-by-side in awe.

"Holy…"

* * *

**So, the train crashed – in **_**three**_** parts (I mean, why do things by halves?) – our fave brothers are trapped in the wreckage, and who knows what dastardly injuries I shall give them? Our three boys are waiting for a bus and our two cat-fighting girls have discovered something fantastic… **

**Tune in next time to find out where the heck I am taking this fic! **


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